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One Stop on the Square may open in new store Monday

“We just have some final touches to do,” Penny Sigloh said about Kenmare One Stop’s second location on the west side square, “and we’ll be ready.”

6/19/13 (Wed)

From the outside looking in . . . Although the sign isn't ready to hang yet, lights
were on in the new One Stop on the Square last week as owner Penny Sigloh and
her staff worked to prepare the west side square business to open on June 24th.
The original store along Highway 52 re-opened Monday as a men's store.

By Caroline Downs

“We just have some final touches to do,” Penny Sigloh said about Kenmare One Stop’s second location on the west side square, “and we’ll be ready.”

The new One Stop on the Square is slated to open Monday. The business will be an extension of Sigloh’s store situated along U.S. Highway 52, which features several lines of men’s work wear, some women’s and children’s clothing, a custom embroidery service, and a laundry service. Sigloh and her husband Dave also own and operate the Kenmare One Stop Burger Shop.

“We have so many things going on up there, it’s too crowded,” said Sigloh about the One Stop store. The downtown location for the business will highlight women’s and children’s clothing.

Sigloh was approached about the idea of occupying retail space in the new west side square building when that project started last summer. She credits the decision to open the satellite store to employees Donna Gilbertson, who will manage One Stop on the Square, and Sherrie Hennix, who will oversee the men’s inventory at the One Stop and continue her position as office manager.

“When this idea was first brought up, Donna and Sherrie really pushed for it,” Sigloh said, adding that she hesitated to add another location. “Now that we’ve gotten into the process, it’s going to work.”

The process involved studying the market and choosing merchandise and new clothing lines to add to the women’s and children’s inventory. “We’ve gone to two markets, buying for the new store,” said Sigloh.

Those items have been crowding the limited storage space at the One Stop while Sigloh and her staff waited for Phase I of the west side square to be completed. The first move-in date announced for early January has been postponed twice, but the One Stop staff had the go-ahead to start the transition last week.

Gilbertson stood in the center of the Kenmare One Stop sale floor Wednesday afternoon, making plans with co-worker Rebecca Standard, who will also be based at One Stop on the Square. “The mannequins are going as they are, dressed or not,” Gilbertson said. “We’re getting the ladies and kids stuff out and reorganizing the men’s section.”

Kenmare One Stop closed its doors from Thursday to Saturday, with the entire staff and David Sigloh dedicated to the move. “It took everybody,” Penny Sigloh said. “None of this could have happened without all the employees. They’ve all spent extra time cleaning, boxing, packing and labeling.”

The Kenmare One Stop businesses employ seven full-time workers, and Sigloh hopes to add one more. Katie Faul will work with Hennix at the original One Stop, while Trish Els, Michelle Jones and Sigloh herself will be scheduled at the two stores and the restaurant. “We have a really good team,” said Sigloh. “Everybody is trained to do everything.”

Once clothing and other merchandise were hauled downtown last week, Sigloh and her staff turned their attention to reorganizing the original One Stop, which re-opened Monday as a men’s store.

“We’re going to have the winter gear now on display year-round, too,” Sigloh said.

She plans to carry more dress clothes for men, based on requests she’s had from customers. “We want feedback from our customers, to know what they want,” she said, adding that Hennix will be seeking that information.

Space for more women’s,teen’s and children’s itemsThe staff plans to open One Stop on the Square Monday if contractors finish their work on the store. “Everything is supposed to be done then,” said Sigloh. “We still need a phone line and the sidewalk has to be handicapped-accessible. Just some final touches, and we’ll be ready.”

Customers will see a spacious and charming shop, with fresh clothing styles for women, teens and children. “It’s not going to be quite so industrial,” Gilbertson said, referring to the atmosphere of the Kenmare One Stop and the focus on men’s clothing.

She noted the store will carry more and different lines of infants’, children’s, juniors’ and misses’ clothing, along with the women’s work wear that has been popular with customers. “We’ve expanded the extended sizes section, too,” she said, adding that several customers had asked for that.

One Stop on the Square will sell an assortment of novelties and gifts for infants, toddlers and children. Teens and adult women will find a wider variety of jewelry, purses and other accessories, along with more gear featuring the Kenmare Honkers mascot.

New giftware in the store includes organic soap products, towel sets and blankets.

“We’ve done some embroidered [towel] sets and we can do custom orders, too,” said Sigloh. “We will also do a lay-away plan at the One Stop on the Square to see how that works for our customers.”

Hours for One Stop on the Square will match those of the Kenmare One Stop, from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and 9 am to 3 pm on Saturdays.

Sigloh plans to hold a grand opening for One Stop on the Square once Kenmare Drug, the laundromat and the First District Health Unit office have moved into their locations in the new building.

“We’re going to try really, really hard to be open on the 24th,” she said. “Check the windows in our store for the ‘open’ signs!”